Lírena (Lee-en-nah)

Origins and cultural interactions
Lirena formed when the Nélrin and Síenvel peoples began living together. Each group had its own dialect. As they traded, worked, and built families, their speech blended. Over time, Lirena became the shared language of the new Rásen culture.

Spread across the island
Lirena is spoken across most of the island. The land is old, varied, and full of different communities, but Lirena connects them. It is the main language for trade, travel, and everyday life.

Natural landmark
A place called Harmonious Grove is very important to the speakers of Lirena. There, nature and art come together. Many people see it as a symbol of their language and culture.

Dialectal variations
Lirena is the main tongue everywhere, but it does not sound the same in every place. In some areas, it is softer and more musical, showing Nélrin roots. In others, it is sharper and more precise, showing Síenvel influence. These differences are small, and speakers can still understand each other.

Role in cultural rituals
People use Lirena every day, but also in rituals and ceremonies. They speak it in festivals for nature, in rites for ancestors, and in many sacred traditions. This keeps the language alive and central to Rásen identity.

Lírena’s Phonology

Syllable Count

Words typically have 1 to 3 syllables.

Consonant Inventory

b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, sh, t, th, v, w, y, z 

sh, th, and ng are treated as single consonant sounds, not clusters.

Vowel Inventory

a, e, i, o, u

Syllable Structure

There are two allowed syllable types:

Normal syllables

Pattern: (C)V(C) 

Where: 

C = any single consonant (including sh, th, ng) 

V = any vowel (a, e, i, o, u)

Rules:

An optional single consonant onset (C)

A mandatory vowel nucleus (V)

An optional single consonant coda (C)

No consonant clusters are allowed at the beginning or end of syllables.

sh, th, and ng each count as one consonant, and may appear anywhere a single C is allowed (in onset or coda).

Syllabic-consonant syllables

Pattern: S

S ∈ {sh and th}

These can form a complete syllable by themselves. 

Only sh, and th may behave this way; all other consonants must appear in normal (C)V(C) syllables.

The permitted syllable are:

(C)V(C)

S, where S = sh or th

Examples of valid syllables

S (syllabic consonants): sh, th 

CV: sa, li, sho, re, tha 

V: a, e, o 

VC: ash, eth, ing, ong 

CVC: san, lísh, rang, deng 

Examples of valid words with syllabic sh/th

Sh-ra → sh.ra 

Th-ng-a → th.ng.a 

Sh-ngar → sh.ng.ar

Stress

One-syllable words are written without a stress mark. 

 Examples: gon /gon/, san /san/, sh /ʃ/, th /θ/
Two-syllable words have stress on the first syllable.

Examples: Líra /ˈli.ra/ Shra /ˈʃ.ra/ Then /ˈθ.en/

Three-syllable words have fixed stress on the first syllable. 

 Examples: Líra /ˈli.ra/, Lírena /ˈli.re.na/, Shlíra /ˈʃ.li.ra/, Thanga /ˈθ.an.ga/

Morphology

Tense Particles

Tense particles precede the verb to indicate the time frame of the action:

na /na/ – present 

 Example: na rotha = “is eating / am eating / are eating” (present tense)

pa /pa/ – past 

 Example: pa rotha = “ate” (past tense of “eat”)

fa /fa/ – future 

 Example: fa rotha = “will eat” (future tense of “eat”)

Negation and Affirmation Particles

These particles precede the verb to indicate negation or affirmation:

ki – negation (marks that the action or state is not true) 

Example: Ve ki rotha líra.

(ve = he, ki = negation, rotha = eat, líra = bread)

“He does not eat bread.” / “He is not eating bread.”

Natural kin style (no explicit “I”):

Ki rotha líra.

(ki = negation, rotha = eat, líra = bread)

“(I) do not eat bread.” / “(I) am not eating bread.”

ay – affirmation (marks that the action or state is true)

Use ay before the verb to explicitly mark that the action or state is true.

With an explicit subject (grammar style):

Ve ay rotha líra.

(ve = he, ay = affirmation, rotha = eat, líra = bread)

“He does eat bread.” / “He is indeed eating bread.”

Natural kin style (no explicit “I”):

Ay rotha líra.

(ay = affirmation, rotha = eat, líra = bread)

“(I) do eat bread.” / “(I) am indeed eating bread.”

Question Particle

ka /ka/ – placed at the end of the sentence to indicate a question.

 Example: (nu = you, na = present, rotha = eat, líra = bread, ka = question)

“Are you eating bread?”

 Noun and Verb Formation

Plural nouns: add the suffix -n to the noun 

 Example: líra → lírán (“breads”)

Noun → verb: add the suffix -a 

Example: róth (food) → rótha (to eat)

Adjective → Noun with en-

Add the prefix en- to an adjective to form a noun.

The new noun can mean:

The abstract quality of the adjective.

A person or thing that strongly embodies that quality.

Example:

náre “bad” → en-náre

“Badness, evil” (abstract)

“An evil one, an evil person/being” (concrete)

Pronouns

1st Singular (I)

Subject: ya – “I” 

Object: yar – “me” 

Possessive Adjective: yas – “my” 

Possessive Pronoun: yasra – “mine” 

Reflexive: yaswu – “myself”

2nd Singular (You)

Subject: nu – “you” 

Object: nur – “you” (object) 

Possessive Adjective: nus – “your” 

Possessive Pronoun: nusra – “yours” 

Reflexive: nuswu – “yourself”

3rd Singular (He)

Subject: ve – “he” 

Object: ver – “him” 

Possessive Adjective: ves – “his” 

Possessive Pronoun: vesra – “his” 

Reflexive: veswu – “himself”

 3rd Singular (She)

Subject: se – “she” 

Object: ser – “her” 

Possessive Adjective: ses – “her” 

Possessive Pronoun: sesra – “hers” 

Reflexive: seswu – “herself”

 3rd Singular (They – Unisex)

Subject: te – “they” (singular, unisex) 

Object: ter – “them” (singular, unisex) 

Possessive Adjective: tes – “their” (singular, unisex) 

Possessive Pronoun: tesra – “theirs” (singular, unisex) 

Reflexive: teswu – “themself” (singular, unisex)

Pronoun Examples

Subject Pronoun

 Ve na rotha líra. 

 (Ve = he, na = present, rotha = eat, líra = bread) 

 “He is eating bread.”

Object Pronoun

Grammar example (with subject pronoun):

Ya na len ver.

(ya = 1st person singular, na = present, len = see, ver = him)

“I see him.”

Grammar example only; direct “I” is not used in natural kin speech.

Natural kin speech (no “I”):

Na len ver.

(na = present, len = see, ver = him)

“See him.” / “(I) see him.”

This is how kin naturally talk, omitting the explicit “I.” The subject is understood from context.

Possessive Adjective

 Ves líra. 

 (Ves = his, líra = bread) 

 “His bread.”

Possessive Pronoun

 Líra vesra es. 

 (Líra = bread, vesra = his (pronoun), es = is) 

 “The bread is his.”

Reflexive Pronoun

 Ve na len veswu. 

 (Ve = he, na = present, len = see, veswu = himself) 

 “He sees himself.”

Consistency of Pronouns

Object pronouns: add -r to the subject form. 

 Example: ve → ver, ya → yar, nu → nur

Possessive adjectives: add -s to the subject form. 

 Example: ve → ves, ya → yas, nu → nus

Possessive pronouns: add -ra to the possessive adjective. 

 Example: ves → vesra, yas → yasra, nus → nusra

Reflexive pronouns: add -wu to the possessive adjective. 

 Example: ves → veswu, yas → yaswu, nus → nuswu

Possession with Particle do

Use the particle do place immediately after the possessor noun to indicate possession:

Examples:

kala do nélo

(kala = cat, nélo = house)

Meaning: “the cat’s house” / “the house of the cat”

yas nélo

(yas = my, nélo = house)

Meaning: “my house” / “the house of me”

Note: Kin avoid using the explicit pronoun ya “I” in natural speech. They instead use the possessive form yas for “my.”

Basic Word Order

Basic sentence structure

Subject – Tense/Negation/Affirmation Particle – Verb – Object
(S – T / A - V – O).

Tense and negation/affirmation particles always precede the verb.

The question particle ka is placed at the end of the sentence.

Pronoun usage

Subject pronouns appear before the verb:
Ve rotha lira. → "He eats bread."

Object pronouns are formed with -r to follow the verb:
va rotha ver. → "I eat him/her."

Possessive adjectives by adding -s preceding the noun:
Ves lira→ "His/her bread."

Possessive pronouns with -es appears after the noun:
Lira ves → "The bread is his/hers"

Reflexive pronouns by adding -wu is used when the subject and object are the same:
Ve rotha veswu. → "He eats himself."

Noun-Noun Possession

Possession between two nouns is marked by the particle te. It is placed immediately after the possessor and before the possessed noun:

Kala te dom → "The cat’s house."

Questions

The question particle ka is placed at the end of the sentence:
Ve rotha lira ka? → "Does he eat bread?"

Contextual Sentences

 1.  Using Nouns and Verbs:

     1.  "Risa gon sawa."

         1.  Breakdown: (Risa = person, gon = go, sawa = here)

        2.  Translation: "The person goes here."

 2.  Describing with Adjectives:

     1.  "Meka lira."

         1.  Breakdown: (Meka = mountain, lira = big)

        2.  Translation: "The mountain is big."

 3.  Combining Adverbs:

     1.  "Pul lupa."

         1.  Breakdown: (Pul = run, lupa = quickly)

        2.  Translation: "Run quickly."

 4.  Time and Verb:

     1.  "Mir nala."

         1.  Breakdown: (Mir = sleep, nala = now)

        2.  Translation: "Sleep now."

 5.  Action and Object:

     1.  "Vak fano."

         1.  Breakdown: (Vak = eat, fano = fire)

        2.  Translation: "Eat the fire." (This is metaphorical.)

 6.  Complex Sentence with Adjectives and Place Words:

     1.  "Nelo vilo vuna."

         1.  Breakdown: (Nelo = house, vilo = good, vuna = there)

        2.  Translation: "The house there is good."

 7.  Using Multiple Elements:

     1.  "Risa tar sena luma."

         1.  Breakdown: (Risa = person, tar = speak, sena = small, luma = sun)

        2.  Translation: "The person speaks of the small sun."

 8.  Question Formation:

     1.  "Na len vata ka?"

         1.  Breakdown: (Na = present tense marker, len = see, vata = tree, ka = question marker)

        2.  Translation: "Do you see the tree?"

Consonants

• b = /b/ (as in bat)
• d = /d/ (as in dog)
• f = /f/ (as in fan)
• g = /g/ (as in go)
• h = /h/ (as in hat)
• k = /k/ (as in kite)
• l = /l/ (as in lip)
• m = /m/ (as in man)
• n = /n/ (as in no)
• ng = /ŋ/ (as in sing) — counts as one consonant
• p = /p/ (as in pat)
• r = /r/ (tapped/trilled, like Spanish r in pero)
• s = /s/ (as in see)
• sh = /ʃ/ (as in ship) — one consonant
• t = /t/ (as in top)
• th = /θ/ (as in think) — one consonant
• v = /v/ (as in van)
• w = /w/ (as in win)
• y = /j/ (as in yes)
• z = /z/ (as in zoo)

Vowels

• a = /a/ (like “a” in father)
• e = /e/ (like “e” in bed)
• i = /i/ (like “ee” in see)
• o = /o/ (like “o” in go)
• u = /u/ (pronounced ju, like “you” in English you)

Diphthong

ay / ai = /aj/ (like English “eye”)

This is a + y = /a/ + /j/

Tense Markers

Past Tense:

Example: Pa rotha lira.

Breakdown: Pa = past tense marker, rotha = eat, lira = bread

Translation: Ate bread.

Present Tense:

Example: Na rotha lira.

Breakdown: Na = present tense marker, rotha = eat, lira = bread

Translation: Eats bread.

Future Tense:

Example: Fa rotha lira.

Breakdown: Fa = future tense marker, rotha = eat, lira = bread

Translation: Will eat bread.

Negation and Affirmation

Negation:

Example: Ki rotha lira.

Breakdown: Ki = negation particle, rotha = eat, lira = bread

Translation: No eat bread.

Affirmation:

Example: Ay rotha lira.

Breakdown: Ay = affirmation particle, rotha = eat, lira = bread

Translation: Yes eat bread.

Question Formation

Question:

Example: ve rotha lira ka?

Breakdown: ve=he, rotha = eat, lira = bread, ka = question marker

Translation: He eat bread?

Combined Example

Sentence: Fa rotha lira ka?

Breakdown: Fa = future tense marker, rotha = eat, lira = bread, ka = question marker

Sentences follow a Subject–Verb–Object (SVO) word order.  

• Tense and polarity particles come before the verb:

  - pa   past  

  - na  present  

  - fa   future  

  - ki   negation (“no / not / isn’t”)  

  - ay  affirmation (“yes / indeed”)  

Questions are marked by adding ka at the end of the sentence.  

The first-person singular subject (“I”) is usually understood from context and is not stated explicitly.

Adjectives follow the nouns they describe.

Basic pattern: noun + adjective

sia ren → “blue market”

The structural markers are. . .

pa - past tense - before verb

na - present tense - before verb

fa - future tense  -  before verb

ki - negation  -  before tense/verb

ay - affimation - before tense/verb

ka - question particle - sentence end